The European Union supports the EastMed gas pipeline project as one
option of tapping gas supplies from the East Mediterranean for the EU,
Peter Stano, lead EU spokesperson for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, told New Europe on June 5.
“The EU supports the EastMed pipeline project,” Stano said, adding
that this pipeline is a Project of Common Interest under the 4th Union
List and the related feasibility study receives EU funds. It should be
seen as one option of tapping EastMed gas supplies for the EU alongside
shipping it to the EU by tankers in the form of Liquefied Natural Gas
(LNG), he added.
On June 2, during a webinar, the energy ministers of Israel, Cyprus
and Greece as well as US Assistant Secretary of State for Energy
Resources
Frank Fannon also reiterated their support for the EastMed pipeline.
However, on June 4, Turkey’s President
Recep Tayyip Erdogan, meeting Libya’s internationally recognised leader
Fayez Sarraj
in Ankara, said Turkey would step-up its cooperation with Sarraj’s
government, to drill for natural resources in the East Med based on an
agreement on sea borders signed by Turkey and Libya last November.
The
EU spokesman reminded that European leaders adopted at the European
Council in December EU conclusions clearly stating that a memorandum of
understanding signed by Turkey and Libya on the delimitation of maritime
jurisdictions in the Mediterranean Sea infringes upon the sovereign
rights of third States, does not comply with the Law of the Sea and
cannot produce any legal consequences for third States. “The European
Council also unequivocally reaffirmed its solidarity with Greece and
also Cyprus regarding these actions by Turkey,” Stano said.
The EU spokesperson reminded that on May 15, the EU Foreign Ministers
also approved a statement about the situation in the Eastern
Mediterranean, “which demonstrates the EU’s unity in supporting Greece
and Cyprus and sends a clear signal and a firm message to Turkey that we
uphold our principles and interests.” The delimitation of EEZs and
continental shelf should be addressed through dialogue and negotiation
in good faith, in full respect of international law and in pursuit of
the principle of good neighbourly relations, he said. “The most recent
escalating actions by Turkey regrettably go in the opposite direction,”
he added.
Stano called on all international community members to abide by these
principles and refrain from any actions undermining regional stability
and security. “The EU and Turkey have a strong interest in an
improvement of their relations through a dialogue which is intended to
create an environment of trust. We will continue our diplomatic
engagement with Turkey to try to steer our relationship towards a
cooperative and constructive approach,” the EU spokesperson said.
Greece’s Prime Minister
Kyriakos Mitsotakis sent
letters on June 3 to the EU Council and Commission presidents protesting
over Turkey’s activities in the Eastern Med. “We have seen reports
about a letter sent by Prime Minister of Greece Mitsotakis to President
of the European Commission (
Ursula)
von der Leyen,” Stano said. “We will check if the letter has already been received and reply in due time.”
Fannon told the webinar the Turkey-Libya MoU is “provocative” and could cause “instability” in the region.
Charles Ellinas,
a senior fellow at the Global Energy Center at the Atlantic Council,
told New Europe on June 5 it helps that the US State Department has
confirmed that islands are entitled to EEZs. This is the obvious outcome
of applying the UN law of the seas, UNCLOS, he said. “But this support –
by the US and the EU – and cooperation between Israel, Cyprus and
Greece will not deter Turkey,” Ellinas said, adding that Ankara is
determined to proceed with exploration and drilling in the EEZs of
Cyprus and Greece taking advantage of the cessation of drilling
activities by the international oil companies due to coronavirus and the
crisis that has hit the oil and gas industry. “Turkey is still drilling
in Cyprus EEZ, persisting with its East Med dominance plans – despite
the crisis – clearly showing that there is no economic basis to its
actions,” he said.
“Turkey is capitalising on its maritime ‘agreement’ with Libya, that
it entered into specifically for this purpose,” Ellinas said, adding,
“This, of course, impacts the rights of Cyprus or Greece to their EEZs
and to a certain extent Egypt, but not Israel directly. Turkey is using
the Libya deal, drilling in the EEZs of Cyprus and Greece, in order to
create facts in support of its claims, perhaps in preparation for
eventual negotiations”.
Read more at: EU reiterates support for EastMed pipe, urges Turkey to respect international law | New Europe
